I'll Be Villain to Everyone! Except for my Cat...

"W-w-what the fuck are you talking about?!" Tasha screamed, her face flushed with shame and anger.

"...friend. My ex-friend. Did I say something wrong?"

"Y-you...!" Her face twisted with contempt, and her chest rose with an irritated breath. "Trash. After what happened, how dare you have the nerve to make such... jokes." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Jokes?!" He put his hands to his face in shock. "But I really thought we were close friends... Apparently, I was the only one who thought so," he said, lowering his head.

"How dare you, bastard... If it weren’t for my brother, you’d have been caught long ago!"

"And if it weren’t for me, you’d both be dead by now." He shrugged.

"Trash..." Tasha whispered, but didn’t argue.

"And I’m glad to see you, too."

Meanwhile, Kuronuma was still confused and uneasy by the appearance of the newcomer.

She hid fearfully behind Mr. Nobody’s back and cautiously watched the woman.

Finally spotting the girl, Tasha exclaimed in shock.

"How dare you put a helmet on a child?!"

"Villains don’t wear caps. So there was no other choice."

Mr. Nobody sighed and leaned down toward the girl clinging to him.

"Funny, isn’t she? Meet Tasha — the First Step of Bond—Pluribus... The only person I know in Concord who has stepped onto the Path of Bond." Do you know anything about people like her?

"Um. I think they’re all kind and... weird?" the girl replied awkwardly.

"Yeah, that’s right, Kuronuma." He patted her on the head. "Thanks to her abilities, she’s managed to secure a pretty enviable position in the wolf pack. Even though Tasha doesn’t like me, she’ll take care of you. In this city, she and her brother are the best at handling this... They won’t let anyone hurt you."

"B-but, Mr... Señor!

"Mm?"

"Is she really your ex?"

"...

Hearing this question, Tasha could barely contain the anger building in her clenched fists.

"Y-you...!"

"It was just a joke, Kuronuma. I’m Mr. Nobody, after all," he replied, as if that should explain everything.

"I see..."

"..." Meanwhile, Tasha’s fists unclenched. A complex expression appeared on her face, as if she were both glad and upset by this admission.

"Besides... the way she is with her brother is a bit too close..."

"Y-you! Damn Nobody, shut your filthy mouth already!"

Mr. Nobody just smiled.

"..." As always, at that moment, only the black cat was watching his joyless smile.

...

Keeping his distance, Mr. Nobody explained the missing details and the finer points of caring for the girl. On top of that, he had to inform her that he would send a package containing a simulation of Paymax for Kuronuma.

Also, just in case, he repeated the Six Lessons to the girl again and told her never to show her horn, ears, or nose in public or on surveillance cameras.

"Well, that’s about it. Did you remember everything?"

"Yeah..." The last conversation had been so long that night was already falling in Concord. The bright colors of the neon lights reflected off the girl’s helmet, and for some reason, right now... she looked sad.

"That’s your cat, right? Is she coming with you?"

"I don’t know, I think she will decide for herself..."

"She?"

"She."

"Alright..." he said, meeting the cat’s gaze. "Then take care of her, too. Go on, Kuronuma."

He gave the girl a gentle push on the back with a smile, but...

"S-senior! — Kuronuma spun around and grabbed his hand. — Maybe you could take care of me yourself?!"

That alone left him speechless.

His heart skipped a painful beat.

"..."

"W-we could ride the motorcycle again, listen to music together..."

"..."

"We could go to a concert with music, and if you go to that Selection... I could cheer for you from the stands."

"Kuronuma..."

"And if you wanted, I’d give you a name... Mr. Nobody sounds so sad."

"..."

He was about to say something, but the girl beat him to it.

"Ah... I’m sorry, you’ve already done so much for me... That was very rude of me."

"It’s fine..." He let go of the girl’s hand and patted her on the shoulder.

The girl lifted her head, and a radiant smile peeked out from under her oversized helmet.

"Thank you! Thank you for saving me, señor!" the girl exclaimed.

Mr. Nobody sighed.

’She really is dangerously cute... It’s really hard to resist the urge to become a single father.’

"You’re welcome. Take care..."

"B-but...!" The girl grabbed his hand again. "Maybe you could promise me that we’ll meet again, at least once? J-just, you know..."

"..."

"I-I’m really curious about what it means to be a vere... vetera... v-vegetarian!" The girl finally blurted out.

Was she really curious about that? She hadn’t even remembered how to pronounce the word, so it was perfectly obvious that...

Kuronuma was lying.

"..." It became even more obvious as she shifted from foot to foot and looked away. She seemed very embarrassed.

Who could refuse in a situation like this?

What kind of terrible person would you have to be to break this girl’s heart?

Only someone truly heartless...

Or someone desperate to remain Nobody.

"..." He looked at Tasha.

This scene was strangely similar to something from their past. Depending on the answer, it could hurt her too. Again.

"..." He raised his head and gazed up at the night sky.

Countless stars... And each of them now seemed like an invisible witness to this situation.

The gaze of each one weighed incredibly heavily on his heart.

That was exactly why he loved looking at the black hole so much. Unlike everything else, he didn’t feel its gaze.

It seemed to him just as black and empty inside.

It seemed like nobody to him.

"..." He lowered and turned his head away from the girl, from Tasha, and from the stars.

The fact that others couldn’t see his face right now felt like a strange relief.

"..." Only the cat met his gaze.

Only she could see what his face looked like right now.

"No," his cold voice rang out.

He brushed her hand off.

"What..."

Kuronuma’s fragile voice sounded like glass shattering suddenly.

"Have you already forgotten what you were afraid of at the very beginning?!"

He suddenly moved closer to her and changed the image on the mask. Kuronuma saw only black spots there... And now they formed a terrifying monster’s grimace.

"I’LL KILL YOU AND DEVOUR YOU!!!" the monster screamed viciously.

"Aaaaaaaah!!!"

The girl screamed in fear and ran away. Soon, she found Tasha and clung to her.

From the sounds of her sobs, it was clear that Kuronuma had started crying.

"Trash," Tasha whispered coldly, with terrible disappointment in her voice.

"Hahaha!" he laughed maliciously. "Come on, come closer! Let Nobody take a bite out of you!"

"..." Tasha hugged the girl and turned away from him.

He continued to shout insults after them, but neither of them ever looked back.

Soon, the woman and the crying girl disappeared into the dark tower.

The sounds of the girl’s crying faded away, and only the silence of the night remained. Since they had met at the back entrance, no one was expected to come here.

"..."

He had already forgotten that silence could feel so painful.

His gaze began to roam the night sky again and settled on a massive black hole.

"...You deserve this, after all. How dare you regret it?" he said.

"..." The black object gave no answer.

"Hah..." He sighed wearily and lowered his head, but then...

"..." She was standing at his feet, still staring at his face with the same disinterest.

"Cat..." he said in surprise, then bit his lip painfully.

"..."

"What, aren’t you afraid of me, you stupid animal?! Then come here and be eaten!" He shouted viciously again and approached the dark figure.

He stopped a couple of centimeters from her face, but the cat showed no signs of fear.

She didn’t say a word and didn’t react at all.

As if he were nobody to her.

"..." Only the cat’s blue eyes continued to stare into his gray ones.

And only now did it seem to him... that he noticed a hint of disappointment in them.

Of everything that had happened, it was that look that felt the most painful.

"Get out of here already, you stupid creature."

The cat didn’t answer. She merely turned away, and her tail demonstratively struck his cheek.

It felt like a stinging slap.

"..." He sat on the ground until the dark feline figure finally blended into the night.

He wanted to smoke.

He wanted to drink.

He wanted to break something.

He wanted...

"...Paymax, fire it up," he whispered, getting to his feet.

A moment later, the black motorcycle let out a thunderous roar.

Sitting behind the wheel, he checked the bike’s top speed.

"400"

Upon receiving the answer, he turned on his music player and twisted the throttle all the way for one reason alone...

’To become a nobody once again.’